Dominiq Ponder, a 23-year-old backup quarterback for Colorado, died Sunday in a single-car crash in Boulder County. Police say he lost control of his Tesla while navigating a curve, crossed into the opposite lane.
The program had to continue. Practice was scheduled. But Deion Sanders understood that football couldn’t come first.
In the first team meeting after Ponder’s death, Coach Prime addressed his grieving players with compassion rarely captured on camera.
“Is there anybody in here that, mentally, psychologically, emotionally, that can’t do it?” he asked.“That doesn’t separate you and make you look like a weaker man. That makes you look like an honest man.”
“So, one more time, does anybody have any opposition to going out there to work today? Because I don’t want you going out there to work if you don’t feel like it.”
Video shows Sanders holding a weeping team member in the front row before speaking to the group. His message was about honoring what they’d lost by making the most of what they still have.
“Today is the most important thing that we have. The best way to honor that is to do all you can with the time that you have.”
Sanders had posted an emotional tribute on social media shortly after news of Ponder’s death broke, calling the quarterback one of his favorite players.
Football can wait. Grief can’t. And Coach Prime understood that better than anyone.